Disney fans, Chapek out, Iger back in for 2 years

The only way I will ever step foot in Disneyland again is when prices are reasonable and they limit entrance numbers.

Oh and they bring back the disability pass where you can wait at the exit. There is no way the new system will work for ds, and it hasn't for many in the disabled community.

I went 8 years ago and it was horrible. We only got on 6 rides because the long lines.

The straw that broke my back on Disney was the Genie + system. The way it works now makes me irrationally angry in that guests can only make one reservation at a time on the same day. Then after each use, there's the whole "what's available now?" based on what we would like to ride and how long the wait and on and on. Then there's the 2 hour window. It's not even the cost, it was that we had to stop after each ride for a little mini-meeting of what to do next. That's exactly how I want to spend time on vacation The free FP+ system let guests make 3 ride reservations in advance and then add on after those are done. Fix that and maybe.

I've thought about this a bit - I'm not sure what Iger can do on the Disney+ side. I know people are complaining about too much Marvel and too much Star Wars but we love the Star Wars spin offs.

As far as the parks, there are tons of changes he can implement almost immediately. Bring back annual passes, the Magic Express and the dining plan, better manage crowd control and reservation system tweaks. I think the biggest changes necessary for improved guest satisfaction are going to take some time and investment because they HAVE to increase staffing and to do that in a meaningful way, they are going to need pay people enough to live in the communities around the parks so they are willing to go back to work for the mouse. Staffing in restaurants, attractions (so many still haven't been brought back a year after things supposedly returned to normal after Covid), MAINTENANCE, buses, guest relations... seriously, you can trace almost all complaints back to the underlying problem of not enough staff to meet the needs/wants/desires of the guests. They keep raising and raising and raising the prices of everything (Genie+ just increased in price as well) and people are being asked to pay for a reduced and often unsatisfactory experience.

One of my son's friends was there on the college program last spring/summer and was placed into mousekeeping. He was there less than 3 weeks before he was promoted to a management role because they were so understaffed. Even with a promotion, they could still pay him less than permanent staff because low pay is part of the deal with the college program. But it's a short term solution since he was only there for a few months. They are churning through those kids, accepting way more than they would have pre-Covid because it's cheap labor but retention is down and those kids are not as trained/experienced in delivering the customer service that guests have come to expect. And even that experience for the kids isn't what it was pre-Chapek; they got rid of the classes, reduced the perks and special events, increased hours so many of them have time getting to enjoy the parks, etc. It's all kind of a mess.

ETA:  Admittedly, I'm in a lot of different Disney groups and different types of Disney groups because my son was also going to work there last summer but ultimately decided to do something different.  But I swear I have read hundreds, maybe thousands of posts of people saying some version of "We're at Hollywood Studios, all of the rides are down except for Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania. My Genie+ time for Smugglers Run is during Fantasmic, and Rise broke down right before we supposed to ride it.  And I could never get a reservation for Oga's, Savi's workshop or Droid Depot."  Planning a vacation for which you are paying thousands of dollars shouldn't require an advanced degree to make sure you can do the basic experiences.

I only have a few minutes cuz I'm on my break but the responses on Instagram have been hilarious. People are very very excited, to put it mildly.

I don't mind the park reservation system as much as other people do. I need pluses insane. I wish I would go back to the old fast passes when you had to run over and grab them, but that obviously is not going to happen. The magic band fast passes were a definite better choice of what the nonsense it is now is.

I do think it is interesting that it is just about 2 weeks ago the Disney and announced the surge pricing for genie plus and park tickets and now chapek is out. I wonder if maybe that was a straw that broke everyone's back?


To me, the biggest benefits would absolutely be lowering the crowds capping them at a reasonable amount. Make park hoppingg happen earlier than two and GET RID OF GENIE PLUS.


I also think this 2-hour cancellations for dining is ridiculous. Dining reservations are hard enough to get now. They will be impossible because people can hoard them up until 2 hours before their meal without being charged.

But Iger was the one who designed genie+ and set the stage for some of the other changes.

I’m not a Chapek fan but I highly doubt Iger will magically bring it all back.

For me it will be interesting to see if Josh D’Amaro makes changes now that Chapek is out. He always played it like his hands were tied , well now let’s see what he will do.

Sadly, I don't really think we are going to see much going back to the way it was. We usually go to Disney twice a year. That used to be flying, getting on Magical Express, having a grocery order waiting when we arrived, and we'd be at our first fast pass within two hours of landing. I think we only left the Disney bubble once or twice when we went on a Disney specific trip. Since covid, we started driving down, making stops at fun cities along the way; we spend 2 days less at Disney, get our own groceries, usually get frustrated by the lines and end up off property seeing other parts of Orlando or going to the beach. I don't love the price increases, but I would pay more for lower crowd levels, I'd even pay for Genie+ if I could book them weeks ahead of time.

Dawn

This won't fix much, because as mentioned, a lot of the unpopular initiatives were started under Iger. What will change is perception. Iger is a lot better at the empathetic handholding that nervous investors and talent need. Iger is 1000x better at the wooing. This change has very little to do with the parks, and is all about the future of the Studio and Disney+, and the overall movie and streaming landscape in 2023 in general. The theme parks is the one thing Wall Street is satisfied with. Bursting at the seams so they can aggressively increase prices... what's not to like? Iger may go on a kumbaya tour to play into the "I see you as a person instead of a cog in a machine," and hope they get a bump in retention rates. But all the things people hate about the parks now... that's continuing. There are existing plans to change who needs to make a reservation (vs automatically with ticket buys, resort reservations), and modifications to the park hopping policy. Those might get announced, and then people will be "Yay, Iger!" when they were going to happen all along.

i totally agree.  in turbulent times, people need the perception of stability and a semblance of the "good old days" to deal with the uncertainty.  iger may not be able to move mountains in 2 years but he will make people feel like the company is back in experienced or familiar hands. no doubt that kumbaya tour kicks off today. all the stuff that was already in play under chapek will still probably happen but people might be more accepting of it when the messenger is someone they like.      

I decided I was done when we didn't realize that a date specific ticket wasn't enough - you also had to have the park reservation for that day. Fine, the error is on us. But not interested in planning a trip that has so many hoops to jump through. DH took the kids back earlier this month (for the day we tried to go, but couldn't, in the spring). They waited and waited in line for a ride that closed. Ride attendants didn't explain what happened, just starting routing people out of the queue. Only found out when someone asked what was going on. When we took our kids about 10 years ago, had a ride close while we were waiting in line. Attendands were upfront about it, apologetic and comped us another magic pass ride. Nothing at all this time. We're done. That old Disney magic / outstanding experience is gone. Doubt we'll go back.

I agree with this. I hope this boosts staff morale and ultimately that will improve guest experience. Frankly I’d rather pay a little more to get a better experience. After our last visit in January dh said he’d never go back, there was no magic, food was mediocre (at best), housekeeping was minimal, it was crowded (and cold, but I can’t blame Disney for that). If raising prices means we can’t afford to go as often then so be it, I just want to enjoy it when we do go. Frankly I’m not sure why people think it should be affordable for the average family to visit often.

100% this especially what I bolded. The primary tool they have to control the crowds wanting to go is pricing and there will always be people who will spend whatever it takes to go there. 

I read in the NYT article about this that an activist shareholder group bought more than $800 million in stock last month and has been demanding changes, including cutting costs and a seat on the board. It may be too late for Iger to fix this.

I hope you all have a great time for the rest
of your trip! I do think the DAS system sounds drastically improved, but I think the Genie + system is incredibly complicated and a tad stressful. I am going in just about 2 weeks and am so confused about the Genie + system and it is stressing me out.